Directed By Tony Goldwyn

Starring – Bobby Cannavale, William Fitzgerald, Robert De Niro

The Plot – Follows Max Bernal (Cannavale), a stand-up comedian living with his father (De Niro), while struggling to co-parent his autistic son Ezra (Fitzgerald) with his ex-wife, Jenna (Rose Byrne). When forced to confront difficult decisions about their son’s future, Max and Ezra embark on a cross-country road trip that has a transcendent impact on both their lives.

Rated R for adult language, some sexual references and drug use

Ezra – Official Trailer (youtube.com)

POSITIVES

Unlike a majority of films centering around a character with Autism, “Ezra” feels like an insightfully refreshing and sincere depiction from Goldwyn, who himself is the father of an Autistic boy, to which many of the films interactions feel directly plucked from. For his debut directorial effort, Goldwyn not only prescribes vitality to the many difficulties of the condition, with depiction balanced between Ezra and those surrounding him, but also the many unusual circumstances that come with treating it, resulting in more than a few conversation starters that range anywhere from enraging to depressing, for just how little is realized about Autism, even today. This is where the film finds its greatest strength, as it refuses to treat Ezra’s condition as a wet blanket like other films do, and instead imbeds a rich balance of dramedy that keeps the engagement light-hearted, without it underwhelming the magnitude of the stakes and urgency for what the storytelling has attained, all with some surprising dark humor that treats the condition from an adult perspective. In addition to Goldwyn being a major contributing factor towards the film’s integral authenticity, the casting of Autistic actor, William Fitzgerald, is most appreciative, with a vulnerable performance that feels honest without feeling degrading. Because Goldwyn essentially lets Fitzgerald loose with all of the energy and randomness of his deliveries, we’re presented an unabashedly knowledgeable take on the everyday realities of the condition, where something simplistic that we take for granted each day feels titanic with never-ending responsibility towards creating a safe and habitable environment. Fitzgerald makes up for in charisma what he lacks in screen experience, and while his performance never suffers as a result of those limitations, it makes for a titular character whose deliveries never feel sanitized or tweaked from off-screen influence, instead allowing William to use his own experiences to paint Ezra with more consciousness than I was truly expecting. Beyond Fitzgerald, the rest of the performances are equally endearing, particularly that of Cannavale and Byrne, who each make up the conflicting sides of this condemned relationship, with each adopting their own ways to approach the conflict of a child who they can’t fully communicate with. For Byrne, it’s effortlessly summoning all of the anxieties and exhaustion that comes the parental responsibility, and for Cannavale, his step forward into rare leading man territory enables an internal immaturity and external uneasiness that often leads to a confrontational concoction that further complicates this already tender situation, with a slice of constantly humbled humanity that helps bring the likeability to such a deconstructive character. The film is enriched by Cannavale’s every man appeal, but beyond that the nourishing dynamic between he and Fitzgerald, which uncovers many sweet and even hard-to-swallow pills of truth for what one asks of the other, all with an easy breezy chemistry that further enhanced the lived-in believability of their respective portrayals. Not to be left out, Robert De Niro is also given a memorable scene to unload some dramatic heft that I forgot he was even capable of delivering, and as the guiding force to much of the movie’s developments, allows Robert to make the most of the minimal amount of screen time that he’s casually given. Aside from the meaningful merit that he gives to the prominent conflict, Goldwyn also pitches a beauty in presentation for his first capture, with versatility in camera work, still frame and handheld, that vividly paint many dire and chaotic situations in real time. At first, the mixed usage felt a bit sloppy and arduous in its capture, but the corresponding framing stimulates an understated brand of style that eventually sneaks up in every meaningful shot, with street lights, sunny canvases, and even mirror tricks serving as cunningly articulate methods of transition that prove Goldwyn’s worth in the second act of his career as a master storyteller.

NEGATIVES

Unfortunately, even with so much merit in authenticity and uniqueness in approach, “Ezra” is still nearly doomed by a pedestrian screenplay that calls upon far too many contrivances and meandering emotional manipulation to prove its points, in turn leaving its entertainment value lacking to its many educational perspectives. For starters, the opening act feels a bit aimless, especially in how long it takes the script to properly materialize the beats of its establishing plot, and likewise the third act is oversaturated with inauthentic developments that reach a little too forcefully for those dramatic moments that cinematize the proceedings. I myself don’t have a problem with drama, especially in a film with that genre designation, however between the dependency on humor throughout the film, as well a piano-driven music score that maximizes the emotions that it refuses to let play out within the scenes they accompany, there’s a real sense of manufactured artificiality that never feels earned or endearing with the consistency of the film, resulting in moments of desperation where the film reverts back to those aforementioned predecessors that it’s so obviously better than. In addition, while Ezra is the primary plotting for much of the movie’s directions, the script spends a bit more time on other characters, and only bringing the boy back when absolutely required to progress the plot. While other characters give the script dimensions, it shouldn’t come at the cost of Ezra, who often feels like a supporting character in a movie quite literally named after him. Likewise, the film is quite predictable with its many familiar beats alongside the road trip framing device, but with frequent conveniences that directly cut into the urgency of the narrative. This left the pacing feeling a bit surprisingly strained for a film that barely clocks in at 95 minutes, especially with an ending that just sort of runs out of time instead of solving anything concrete with the many family dynamics, resulting in about forty minutes of ideas put to a 95 minute execution that feels the weight of that stretched fabric. One such example pertains to Goldwyn himself, who sparsely portrays Ezra’s disconnected stepdad in the film, with an opening act misunderstanding conveyed by him, which puts the movements to motion for the entire road trip. This misunderstanding is only mentioned once again, but never with him, and the film just sort of drops what his responsibilities are as an outsider to adopting an Autistic child to his life. Leaving the script alone, “Ezra” is also one of those movies depicting stand-up comedy, where the on-stage material falls completely flat. This isn’t a major issue to the integrity of the film, but it continues one of my least favorite tropes, which is all the more concerning when the material away from the stage works on a decent enough basis, leaving these frequent scenes inside of the club to never hit with the same creativity or cadence that should certify some kind of value to Cannavale’s comedian protagonist, but instead submits material to him that never shows off his character’s talents in ways that outline everything that he risks as a dedicated father.

OVERALL
“Ezra” does take a few uniquely authentic approaches in its execution of the perils and privileges of raising Autistic children, but finds its efforts occasionally hindered by a rudimentary script full of melodramatically manufactured beats and distracted focus. Goldwyn’s saving grace is the talents of his decorated ensemble, who command humanity and humility in their various performances, but especially the insightful accessibility to an often-misunderstood condition that calls for patience and especially understanding, resulting in a film that always has its heart in the right place, even if its head is occasionally somewhere else entirely.

My Grade: 6/10 or C